Philosophy of Ministry

   The Way 

 (Written by Minister Kevin A. Hall)

  

God has given the church the responsibility of making disciples of every nation. Jesus’ final words to His disciples were to make more disciples – baptizing, teaching, discipling. He promised that He would be with them always, having given them the authority to fulfill this mission. The target audience of this mandate was ‘the whole world’. To accomplish this task, members of God’s church must be equipped, incarnated, then deployed. Through the ministry of the church, we evangelize, preach, teach, heal, nurture, administer, disciple, plant churches, affecting society for God’s Kingdom. 

Ministry Purpose: 

Our goal is to equip every member for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ (Ephesians 4:12). Submitted to the Holy Spirit, we will mobilize the Christian community to live redemptively so as to become Christ’ witnesses. We will be incarnational in execution, entering others’ world, as Christ entered our world, without compromising God’s truth, biblical convictions, our values, nor our standards. We will engage in Presence ministry, fully involved in the community through relationship building, speaking life to the dark corners of the earth, and proclaiming the Kingdom of God. 

Ministry Design 

All ministry considerations are based on the Bible being the normative source of our Theology. We believe the Bible to be the Inspired, Infallible Word of God.  As such, we teach the Apostle’s doctrine. This ministry will therefore protect biblical absolutes and protect core commitments while adapting to win all for Christ. We will be creative and diverse in our missional strategies. We will maintain sound doctrine and ensure there is continuous dependence upon the Holy Spirit for guidance. 

We are committed to expositional teaching, the development of gifts within the church, the call to prayer and faith, the call to worship and the insistence upon every believer becoming Fruit-full. We are incarnational in approach – becoming all things to all men, partaking of our communities and meeting Felt - needs. We are committed to engaging persons in all socio-economic status communities – the incarnation into the avenues of arts, sciences, education, construction and politics through the deployment of trained witnesses. 

 Ministry Reach 

We are committed to the integration of Faith and Work. This ministry will have an Inside-Out approach. Our core commitments are towards discipleship and community engagement. Every believer will be equipped through the teaching of God’s Word, their gifts identified, with opportunities for the development and deployment of those gifts through incarnational strategies and methods. Because our desire is a holistic ministry, our ministry emphasis is to achieve a balance in the teaching of theology, worship, missions, worship and addressing social concerns. We will accomplish this primarily through corporate gatherings and small group ministries. These will include but not limited to Sunday Schools, Youth and Family, Missions Outreach, House to House and 3rd Place ministry strategies. Key to delivering our commitment to God’s Great Commission call is the training and development of the church. 

1. Principles relative to the church’s reasons for existence 

• We believe that the Church is the spiritual dwelling place of Almighty God. It is a Holy Nation. It is the Body of Christ. It is God’s spiritual kingdom upon the Earth. It is the community of believers empowered by the Holy Spirit, assigned to carry out God’s mission. It is God’s vehicle for presenting the Good News of salvation to all that believe. It is also the place for fellowship and the edification of the believers and functions as God’s government upon the earth. 

        2. Principles relative to Leadership 

• We will teach and submit to God’s pattern according to Titus 1; 1 Timothy 3 – 4  

3. Principles relative to the Operations of Gifts 

• We will encourage the ‘desiring of spiritual gifts’ (1 Corinthians 12:31) 
• We will be responsible to discover, develop and deploy each member’s spiritual gift/s  

 4. Principles relative to Membership and Discipleship 

• We will be committed to the spiritual unity of the church in all locations 
• We will be committed to the development of mentoring relationships with the goal of replicating imitators of Christ 

• We will be committed to the development of healthy relationships within the body of Christ 
• We will be speaking the truth in love to each other (Ephesians 4:15) 
• We will intentionally preach and teach membership principles as a means of continual spiritual examination and growth in Faith (2 Timothy 3:16) 

 5. Principles relative to Church Discipline 

• We will preach, teach and counsel with the intent to achieve spiritual maturity according to the Scriptures 

6. Principles relative to Church Staff & Ministries 

• We will be committed to a transformational Leadership model 
• We will seek high moral levels across all ministries 
• We will have genuine concern for meeting people’s legitimate needs 

• We will ensure every member of the team is fully aware of their responsibilities and privileges 
• We will collaborate effective communication using all available means of communication 
• We will ensure all leaders and workers are supported, encouraged, equipped, inspired, understood and held accountable. 

 7. Principles relative to the Church’s Public Services 

• We will be intentional through Incarnational strategies 

• Tent -making Missions 
• Marriage & Family Counseling 
• Substance Abuse & Addiction Assistance 

 8. Principles relative to the Church Facility 

• We will gather for corporate meetings weekly 

• We will gather in a multiplicity of outlets 
• The main campus 
• House to House  
• Campus ministries 
• Community Outreach ministries (prison, nursing home, schools) 
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9. Principles relative to Musical Emphasis & Worship 

• We will speak to one another in psalms, hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with our hearts to the Lord (Ephesians 5:19) 
• We will ensure the Priority of worship is the Lord (Mark 12:30) 
• We will gather to worship with “holy expectancy” (Acts 2:2) 
• We will ensure the Lord is ‘lifted up’ (Isaiah 6) 

• We will offer ‘sacrifices of praises to God’ (Hebrews 13:15) 
• We will worship the Lord in spirit and in truth (John 4:23) 
• We will provide varied group avenues of worship 
• Mass Choirs 
• Youth & Children 

• Men’s & Senior 
• Praise Teams 
• Mass media avenues of music production. 

10. Principles relative to Finances. 

• We believe that our level of spiritual maturity is connected to our management of God resources 
• We encourage the giving of tithes to the Lord 
• We will seek to encourage faithful stewardship of God’s resources 
• We will encourage graduate levels of kingdom giving (Hebrews 11:16) 
• We will allocate necessary funding for Missional Strategies and Missionary Deployment. 
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11.  Principles relative to Church Growth & Evangelism 

• We will seek to exceed Great Commission Quotient (GCQ) levels upwards of 10% 
• We will employ Incarnational Missional Strategies and Methods 
• We will seek to plant churches annually 
• We will pursue all possible channels for the presentation of the Gospel 

• Television, internet, books, electronic media, blogs 
• Develop links with communities through ‘Care Ministries’ 

• Lower Level Christian Schools 
• Day Care Facilities 
• Homes for the Elderly 

• Job Placement and Training Facilities 
• Food and Clothing Bank 
• Ministry managed Community Center for Children 
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12. Principles relative to Prayer 

• We will be a Praying Church (James 4:3; John 15:7) 

• We are co-laborers with God (1 Cor. 3:9) 
• We believe that History belongs to Intercessors 
• We will conduct strategic warfare through prayer 
• We will devote time and resource in praying for our Missionaries and their Ministries. 
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